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In what is being billed as a North American first, the city of Montreal announced Monday it has will bury its controversial Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie bus depot three storeys underground in order to lessen negative effects on the heavily populated neighbourhood that surrounds it. The submergence will mean less visual pollution in the neighbourhood, and can be done for the same price first estimated for an above-ground multi-storey garage, the city said.

At the same time, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante addressed issues of overcrowding on the métro system, saying more buses are not the answer.

Montreal to bury its new $254-million Bellechasse bus garage undergroundBack to video

“Yes, the 300 extra buses (that Montreal is adding to its fleet) will help, but it’s to improve service all over. It won’t help so much on the crowded Orange Line,” she said. “Yes, having more buses is a good idea, but it’s still more buses on the road, more traffic on the street. In Montreal, we have a big population, we have people from all different suburbs who use the Orange Line. My message to all people listening is we need to take care of the heart of the system. I want to have all kinds of subway lines and other options, but we have to make sure the heart stays strong.”

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Last week, Société de transport de Montréal chairman Philippe Schnobb said ridership on the Orange Line grew by 5.5 per cent in 2018, in part because of an early winter, higher employment figures and frustration with Montreal’s construction-clogged streets. He said more express bus routes, and an added métro line, could help to ease congestion. He also suggested passengers move to the far ends of métro trains, where cars are less crowded.

Montreal announced in 2017 it planned to build a new $254-million bus garage called the Bellechasse Transport Centre, to replace the nearby St-Denis Transport Centre, built in 1957. The city said the centre would have a capacity of 207 buses — 105 regular-size buses, and 102 longer, accordion buses, as well as electric buses. The centre was to take up two entire city blocks, bordered by de Gaspé Ave. and Bellechasse, Marmier and St-Dominique Sts. in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie.

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The plans, however, raised concerns an industrial bus complex would impede years of efforts to transform the former industrial sector into a dynamic residential quarter. With the help of architecture firm Lemay, the city and the STM developed a plan to put most of the bus garage underground. A ring-shaped building housing administrative offices with an interior courtyard will be above ground, with the rest of the land set aside for public green space. Below ground, one storey will be used as a bus garage, another storey will hold electric equipment, and the final storey will be used for maintenance. A new configuration for buses entering and exiting the station has been created to respond to residents’ concerns about 500 extra buses a day driving through the neighbourhood. Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie Mayor François Croteau thanked the city and the STM for listening to the borough’s concerns.

Work is expected to start in 2019 and be completed by January 2022. A public consultation is scheduled for next January to collect input.

The garage will accommodate electric buses as part of STM’s mandate to only buy fully electric buses starting in 2025. At present there are three electric buses running full-time on the No. 36 line between downtown and Angrignon métro station. The STM is planning to integrate 30 more electric buses into the system next year, testing them to see how they handle Montreal’s climate and driving conditions.

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